Late shot, noncall give Bulls hope

TAMPA — USF guard Shantia Grace hit a running, spinning layup with five seconds left, and after a controversial play at the buzzer, the Bulls kept their Big East tournament hopes alive with a 65-64 win against Pittsburgh.

"It feels great," said Grace, who scored 17 to send two seniors home happy on their final home game. "We were 0-4 against Pittsburgh, and before the game, (ChiChi Okpaleke) said she wanted to beat Pittsburgh."

Grace put USF (14-14, 4-11) ahead with five seconds left, but Pitt (19-9, 9-6) had a chance to win. Chavonte Zellous went up for a 3-pointer at the buzzer and made contact with Okpaleke, but officials ruled no foul was made.

"She definitely got raked," Pitt coach Agnus Berenato said.

Replays showed Zellous made contact with Okpaleke using her nonshooting hand. Officials said after the game that because no foul was called, the play could not be reviewed using TV replays.

The Bulls trailed 18-2 early but rallied, trailing by six at halftime. They didn't tie the score until Gianna Messina hit two free throws with 37 seconds remaining. Grace finished with a team-high 17 points.

USF is one game out of 12th place and the last spot in the Big East tournament, but a Bulls win Monday at Marquette, combined with a Villanova loss at Louisville, would send USF to Hartford and potentially to the Women's NIT.

CLEMSON 72, FSU 70: Morganne Campbell grabbed an offensive rebound and scored as time expired for the visiting Tigers, who erased a 15-point second-half deficit.

Clemson twice trailed by 15 in the second half but tied it at 68 when Campbell stole a pass with 1:33 left, was fouled and hit both free throws.

Williams hit a jumper to give FSU the lead with a minute left, then Christy Brown drove to the basket for a layup to tie it again. Williams missed two free throws with nine seconds left, and the Tigers rebounded and called timeout.

Tate got the inbounds pass and missed a shot from the left baseline, but Campbell was in position underneath for the rebound and putback.

WASHINGTON — Forever linked to 0-29, Fordham's Megan Mahoney goes down as the best player on the team with the worst record in NCAA women's history.

"It's going to be upsetting," said the freshman guard with the beautiful 3-point shot and nothing in her collegiate win column. "But we're going to turn heads as the years go on. We're going to be the big upset to all the other teams."

The Rams finished with one loss more than Charleston in 1990-91 and Centenary in 1999-2000. They have lost 33 straight overall since a 74-65 win over Duquesne on Feb. 4, 2007.

Fordham went 3-25 last season under first-year coach Cathy Andruzzi, who took over a decimated program that has enjoyed little success in decades.

"It's really funny because people look at the record, and they don't know the program history," Andruzzi said. "You've got to know what we inherited. … We're in a building process; not rebuilding because there's nothing to rebuild from."

Fordham is well short of the NCAA record for consecutive losses over multiple seasons, 58 by Long Island University from 1987-89.

NO. 1 UCONN 77, DEPAUL 76: Ketia Swanier hit the go-ahead layup with 1.6 seconds left, and the visiting Huskies rallied from a 17-point second-half deficit. Connecticut closes at home Monday against Rutgers, the only team to beat it this season.